Kai Japanese Restaurant

Unilocal map is wrong. We couldn’t find this place. I got especially upset when I found myself walking past gang members in a rundown alley only to find a dead end. Glad there was 6 of us. Pretty sure I would have gotten mugged if I was by myself.

I loved this place! The owner’s wife was sitting next to us and she suggested what to eat, talked about her life and share deep fried squids that were delicious. Very traditional Japanese ambience, small and cozy place. Great sashimi and rolls, and the gyoza were very good too. Not too pricey, away from the tourists and relaxed. All what I was expecting of this place.

The food consistency and taste is great! The environment is awesome. Can’t go wrong if you’re craving some good Japanese food

Kai is a fantastic small authentic Japanese restaurant. It says a lot about the place when all the other patrons in the restaurant were speaking Japanese.
I had gyoza, tako, a tuna and avocado roll, and yasai tempura. All beautifully executed. I will definitely be back.

Kai never disappoints.
I always get the tako (octopus) karrage and it is DELICIOUS. Just yesterday I tried their udon for the first time… amazing. Best udon I ever had on island.
It’s kinda pricey but well worth it.
The owners make you feel like family right when you walk in the door.
5 stars!

Best place to dine for sushi. Kai has a very typical Izakaya style décor, but décor is the least of my worries. The sushi is always fresh here and prepared by an excellent Japanese chef. Staff is also very friendly. It is a great place to eat dinner while drinking a nice cold Asahi on draft.
They have a lot of sushi options both traditional and non-​traditional style. Their fried squid is great with a side of Japanese mayo. We also love to order the assorted sashimi with red snapper and hamachi. Just expect to leave with a pricey bill, because everything is so delicious!

Excellent meal here. Chef Camacho looks the same as I saw him 4 years ago. Presentation is fantastic and flavorful. Chawan-​Mushi is a real treat !

Kai is a hole-​in-​the-​wall type of restaurant and officially my go-​to for sushi in Guam.
The décor is interesting to say the least. Dollar bills are taped onto the wall, some with messages. Random signs and trinkets are also scattered throughout. Even the bathroom is decked out with quotes and stories to read in case you’re bored.
The service was probably the best I’ve had on Guam. Our waitress was super friendly and she seemed knowledgeable of what she was doing, and the food came out really quickly.
We ordered the chicken udon which was absolutely perfect on that particularly rainy (and kinda cold) Friday in Guam. My bf was a huge fan of the broth. We also ordered a California Roll [yum! and yes, some places can and do mess up this roll]; Spider roll [delicious and crunchy]; and some sort of salmon sashimi-​type roll [I forgot what it was called, but it was amazing]. The sushi had the perfect amount of rice and the fish was fresh. I’m not a sushi-​expert, but all I can say is that the sushi was some of the best I’ve had on Guam. As an added bonus, it was pretty cheap (with a $ 15 pitcher of Miller draft, our total was only $ 55-​ish).
Notably, the restaurant is a tad small so I would advise making a reservation if you have a larger party (assuming they accept those).

The sushi is great! But it’s too small in there plus why do we pay to get water? They want us to choke if we don’t get water?

awesome food! pancho is a culinary master! small place so if you are with a big group there will be a wait. it is so worth the wait though.

Kai is an izakaya style restaurant tucked into a corner of the Blue Lagoon Plaza in Tumon. It is small and gets crowded fast. Make reservations. Don’t expect to go in for a quick meal because it takes forever to get your dish. There’s one sushi chef and one grill man.
We went on a night that was packed and it took an hour to get fried chicken. Oh and did I mention we were the 2^nd party to get to the restaurant that evening? I wouldn’t go back. It’s just not that good here.
Assorted Sashimi (Ika, Maguro, Tai Snapper, Sake and Gamachi) — It was decent
Crab Crème Croquettes — Wasn’t impressed at all.

I wanted to order something simple, so I tried to order the teriyaki chicken. I was told that it would take 30 minutes. How the fuck does it take 30 minutes to grill some goddamn chicken and throw some teriyaki sauce on it?
I know that they specialize in sushi and traditional Japanese dishes, and that chicken is not a normal order. However, it is a simple, easy dish that is listed on the menu. That wait time is ridiculous and unacceptable.
***Update***
I decided to order something else and asked the waitress if that item also took a long time to prepare. She assured me that it wouldn’t take long. It took more than an hour for my food to arrive.

In parts of Japan it’s common for establishments to give you the polite «No gaijin» (meaning no foreigners) if you aren’t Japanese or Japanese looking. I always tease that Kai is so authentic I’m prepared for the no gaijin gesture — it never happens, in fact the staff is always welcoming, but at Kai I feel like for just a few moments I’ve stepped into a little (seriously tiny) Japanese sushi restaurant.
The sushi menu is simple (as they are in Japan), sashimi is fresh, but the menu is quite expansive with different hot and cold options beyond the typical sushi and tepanyaki. I always order cucumber maki, tako (octopus), miso soup, edamame and of course several sakes. I’ve dabbled and tried udon soup and other rolls.
But my fiancé and I always bring out of towners here and embarrassingly we definitely have eaten here several nights in a row. We always chance it and just show up but I definitely recommend calling ahead to reserve a table because Kai is packed just about every night.

Our our last night in Guam, my dad & I were craving sushi and found this spot. We ordered the sushi sampler, grilled smelt, fried soft shell crab, & sake.
The sampler came with nine pieces of nigiri ranging from tuna to uni, plus six pieces of tuna roll. This was $ 36. Everything was fresh! There were 3 grilled smelt per order. This tasted normal, like how it would taste at every other Japanese restaurant. The plate of fried soft shell crab came with two. This was delish! The crab & smelt were $ 6 each.
Our total came our to $ 66. It’s not too bad for quality fresh fish.

Small.
Japanese.
Delicious!
I really felt like I was sitting in a small Japanese restaurant, right out of Japan. Not of the traditional type but more of the corner restaurant sort.
Anyway, on to the food.
I started with the Tuna Carpaccio (Pic). I was thinking it would be more like a Poke but it wasn’t at all. It was a spot on recreation of the Italian beef carpaccio with extremely fresh Ahi. I was amazed. I always knew there was a way to combine Italian with Japanese and this was it. If you visit this restaurant, get it. No questions asked.
The Edamame (pic) was decent but nothing remarkable. Ok.
Grilled Miso Fish (pic) was perfectly cooked and exactly what I expected from a talented chef. It could not have been cooked any better. Delicious.
And finally, the Spicy Tuna Hand roll (pic). Perfect! The seaweed was crisp, the rice wasn’t too warm, and the fish was slightly spicy but not overpowering. You knew it was spicy but it didn’t burn. I could have used it a bit spicier but I can understand the level it was at.
This was my very first Japanese restaurant in Guam and I can honestly say it’s a winner. I’m holding at 4-​stars for now but I’ll be back looking for a 5. Thank you Kai.

I love love love Kai! I ate there about 3 – 4 times a week, no joke. It typically caters to the later crowd. When you’re there, Sue and Pancho almost always take your picture to post on their Japanese website. They are extremely nice and their food is excellent! I still have yet to find a place that makes geso karrage (deep fried squid) and cold udon better than they do.

Great service, amazing sushi /​food and of course the Shoju … Love the spicy tuna and fried squid legs
Thanks to my friend Sharon for introducing me to this low-​key hotspot!
BTW, does anyone know where I can get one of those killer automatic cameras they use over there?

This is where I go for sushi in Guam. Traditional small sushi den always delivers and makes you feel welcome. Don’t be surprised if they ask to take your picture for their restaurants blog site either! Great sashimi, rolls, & tonkatsu. Only thing I don’t like is their miso soup — tasted like beef boullion but had boiled tuna inside — must be a variety I’m not familiar with. Anyway, it’s in the back left corner of Blue Lagoon Plaza behind Fuji Ichiban.

Came here for drinks and dinner a while back, I hear since then it the food quality has either gone down and/​or the prices have went up. Regardless when I went the food was delicious, there was many menu options, and they came in very small orders. which means if you’re like me you can try one of everything without having to order full orders. Keep in mind doing it this way may make you end up with a $ 15 – 25 bill alone on food, but at least you can try out 4 – 5 different things which is always cool.
~G

If they were open for lunch, I would probably give this hidden gem a full 5 stars. But the exclusivity at Dinner, makes sitting here on any given night worth the while. I must say, coming from the Bay Area, my standards come very high when it comes to Japanese food. Kai sits between two well-​traversed Japenese fixtures on Guam — Aji-​Ichi and Tariyo, so it is easily overlooked. I almost don’t want to share the greatness of this little place since a close friend of mine introduced me to it. There is only one sushi chef and I’m told he hails from one the island’s reputable 5-​star hotels in a previous life. He will make anything you want. There were rolls and combinations not in their already extensive and unique menu… that he willingly provided. They also have o-​den, a traditional japense winter meal of steamed items such as daikon, fishcake, and boiled egg. On one occasion, a companion of mine wanted chirashi and the chef whipped out a fantastic selection. I am officially in love with this place and so glad that I’ve been introduced to it. You must order their mushroom salad! An assortment of marinated warm mushrooms sit atop a bed of fresh greens and you won’t believe you were enjoying mushrooms this much. Even better? The prices… Rolls range from $ 4 – 7 and these are dinner prices.